Spot lamp



' 36 E. c; RICHARDSON SPOT L'AMP 7 'Filed Aug. '51, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheetl NVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Oct. 13, 1936. E c, R CHARDSON 2,057,278

' SPOT LAMP 'Filed Aug. 31, 1935 s sheets sheet Q J l o 4 I l 7 r f f4 44 57 47 v' INVENTOR. 5M 6. B'Y I ATTORNEY-5 Oct. 13, 1936. E. C.'RICHARDSON 57,

SPOT LAMP I Filed Aug. 31, 193,5 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 13, 1936 I I a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Elmer 0. Richardson, Los Angeles, Calif asslgnor to Mole-Richardson, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif a corporation of California Application August 31, 1935, Serial No. 38,750

3 Claims. ((1240-44) My invention relates to spot or flood lamps and bearings from each side of the lamp housing and has particular reference to lamps employed in for convenience are assembled to U-shaped yokes the motion picture industry for spot illumination to permit elevation, depression and adjustment or flood light use in illuminating motion picture in a horizontal plane, my invention provides 5 sets during the photographing of the pictures. arrangements which permit all adjustments, re- 5 In the spot lighting or flood lighting of thea'tri-, moval and replacement of lamp globes and the cal or motion picture stages, it is the common manipulation of focus arrangements to be had practice to employ a spot lamp or flood lamp from the rear of the lamp head, which is the comprising a suitable housing equipped with a part of the lamp most conveniently accessible in lens behind which is mounted a relatively high operation.

powered incandescent lamp as a light source, the Other objects and advantages will be apparent light from which is focused both by the lens on from a study of the following specifications the front of the housing and by a suitable mirror read in connection with the accompanying drawdisposed at the rear of the light source. In the lugs, wherein r r manipulation of the flood or spot lamp it is Figure 1' is a vertical sectional view taken'15 necessary that the light source and mirror be through a spot or flood lamp constructed in rapidly adjusted with respect to the front of the accordance with my invention; housing to increase or decrease the .divergence of Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view. taken the light from the flood lamp and control the through the lamp shown in Fig.1 along the line intensity of the ilumination projected upon. any 11-11 of Fig. 1; v '2 selected portion of the stage or motion picture Figure 3 is a detail horizontal sectional view set. taken along line III11I of Fig. 1, illustrating structed as to permit ready access thereto to the'mirror mounting;

It is also necessary that the lampbe so conthe carriage employed for'the light source and make adjustments in the'focus relation between Figure 4 is'a 'detailvertical elevational' view the reflector and the light source. and to repair For the mirror and mirror'mounting employed in or replace the light source and'when such flood the practiceof my invention;

lamps are employed, particularly on motion pic- Figure 5 is a detail side elevationalview, partly ture sets, the location of such lamps is usually' in section', of the mirror mounting and adjustsuch thatonly the rear of the lamp is accessible ing devices employed'in the practice of my in- 3O H to the person making the adjustments or replacevention; ments. I 9 Figure 6 is ai'horizontal sectional view, taken It is, therefore, an object of my invention to along line VI-VI of Fig. 5; and provide a spot or flood lamp particularly adapted Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating for stage and motion picture lighting effects in the collection of lightfrom the light source by 35 which a high intensity light source may be the employment'of the mirrorand mirror mountemployed in addition with a mirror disposed at ingconstituting my invention. the rear of the light source, the mirror and light. I Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated source being accessible through adoor at the my invention as incorporated in a spot or flood 40 rear of the lamp housing. 7 Q -1amp employing a housing memberl, the same 40 Another object of my invention is to provide. being preferably-formedina-cylindrical or barrel 1 a means for conveniently changing thelight. shape having an upwardly projecting portion 2 source in a manner which permitsthe sphericalf extending along the length 'of 'the upper side of. mirror to be moved out of the way to allow access ,1 the cylinder" or barrel while a similar down- 5 to the light source for such removaland replacewardly projecting portion 3 isforme'd upon and ment. This mirror mounting is provided with extends along the length 'of'th'e loweriside of adjustments and stops which enables the mirror the cylinder or barrel. to be brought to its original position after a lamp The upper extension 2 provides a chamber 4 has been removed and replaced and which communicating with the interior 5 of the hous thereby avoids the remaking of an optical adjusting I through an'opening 6 extending substan- 50 ment necessary to the effective utilization of the tially the full length of the upper extension 2, source of li h the side walls of the housing I projecting ine- Since the weight and bulk of high-wattage spot 'wardly as indicated at l and 8 arranged in overlamps is such that good mechanical design lapping vertical relation with a baffle plate 9 demands that they be supported on trunnion to'prevent the direct transmission of illumina- 55 tion from the interior chamber 5 to the outside of the housing I. The extension 2 is provided with a plurality of openings I and II permitting air to pass into and out of the interior of the housing.

The lower extension 3 likewise forms a chamber I2 communicating with the exterior of the housing through suitable openings I3, the side walls of the housing I projecting inwardly of the extension 3 to form baiiles indicated at I4 arranged in overlapping relation with the baffle plate I5 and preventing the direct passage of light from the interior of the housing to the exterior thereof while permitting free circulation of air through the openings I3 to the interior of the housing I.

The front wall of the housing I is provided with a relatively large and preferably circular opening I6 through which light from a suitable light source I! may pass, the opening I6 being preferably surrounded by an annular lens holder la in which is mounted a condensing lens I 8. As will be described more fully hereinafter, the lens I9 is preferably of the echelon or Fresnel type selected so as to collect the greatest possible amount of illumination from the light source II.

The light source I1 is illustrated as being an incandescent lamp having its source of illumination constituted by a filament 20 preferably arranged in the form of a grid, as is illustrated particularly in Fig. 2. The light source I! is mounted within the housing I upon a lamp support 2| constructed as a box-like member having a socket or receptacle into which the terminals I'la and I'll) of the incandescent lamp may project for the purpose of holding the incandescent lamp in position and transmitting electric current to the filament thereof. The lamp support 2I is provided with a pair of laterally extending ears 22 and 23 forming sliding bearing members upon a pair of rods 24 and. 25 secured to the housing I and extending longitudinally thereof.

The mounting of the lamp support 2I on the longitudinal rods 24 and 25 permits the lamp support 2I to be moved forwardly and rearwardly of the housing to any desired position, thus changing the distance between the light source and the lens IS. The light mounting 2I may be moved forwardly and rearwardly of the housing by any suitable means preferably comprising a threaded lug 26 extending downwardly from the lamp mounting 2I through which extends the threaded end 21 of the operating rod 28. The rod 28 extends through the rear face 29 of the housing and has attached thereto a suitable crank 30 by which the rod 28 may be rotated at the will of the operator of the lamp, the rod 28 being guided by bearing members 3| and 32 formed upon the housing I so as to cause the rod 28 to extend longitudinally of the housing I in substantial parallelism with the rods 24 and 25.

Immediately at the rear of the lamp mounting 2| is a rearwardly extending boss 33 to which is rigidly secured a rod or bar 34, the rod 34 extending rearwardly of the lamp mounting 2I and having secured at its rear end a mirror mounting bracket 35.

By referring particularly to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, it will be observed that the mirror mounting bracket 35 comprises a T-shaped member, the

outer ends of the T having openings 36 and 31 for slidably engaging the rods 24 and 25 but holding the mirror bracket in parallel relation to the lamp mounting 2!. The mirror mounting bracket 35 is provided with a rearwardly extending boss 38 through which extends the rear end of the rod 34, the bracket 35 being secured to the rod 34 by means of a movable set screw 39 so that by properly adjusting the bracket 35 forwardly and rearwardly relative to the lamp mounting 2|, and then tightening the set screw 39 the bracket 35 will always remain at a fixed distance rearwardly of the lamp mounting 2I.

The central lug of the T-shaped bracket 35 extends upwardly and has a vertical bore 40 therein to receive a pin 4| projecting downwardly from one member 42 of a mirror hinge, the opposite member of which is indicated at 43 as being rigidly secured or formed integrally with an annular mirror frame 44. It will also be observed that a set screw 45 projects into the bore 40 and may be tightened into gripping relation with a pin M to maintain the pin at any desired height relative to the bracket 35 and fixed against rotation within the bore 40.

The mirror frame 44 is preferably formed with a rearwardly extending flange 46 defining an annulus against which the edge of a spherical mirror 41 may seat, the mirror being held in the seating relation thereon by means of a tension spring 48 extending between a pair of lugs 49 formed upon and extending from the flange 46.

As will be observed from an inspection of Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5, the mirror 41 when mounted in the frame 44 may be adjusted toward and away from the incandescent lamp or other light source 20 until the light source is properly focused by the mirror 41 and the set screws 39 and 45 may be tightened to hold this fixed relation. However, the hinge mounting 42, 43, by which the mirror 41 is secured upon the mirror mounting bracket 45, permits the mirror 41 and its frame 44 to be swung rearwardly from the lamp or light source 20 to permit access to the light source 20 from the rear of the housing I, while when the mirror 41 is swung back to its vertical position it will be again in the fixed focused relation at which the adjustment was initially made. To insure movement of the mirror 41 back to its original adjusted position, I prefer to provide a lug 50 extending rearwardly and laterally' from the hinge member 42 into which is threaded an adjusting screw 5| bearing upon a downwardly extending finger 52 formed upon the hinge member 43 so that by properly adjusting the screw 5I the same will form a fixed stop against which the finger or stop member 52 on the mirror frame will abut, making it only necessary for the operator of the lamp to press the mirror 41 toward its vertical position until it is stopped by the screw 5|.

In order to prevent injury to the mirror 41 when it is swung downwardly, I prefer to provide a forwardly and laterally extending lug 53 adapted to engage the finger 52 as shown in Fig. 5 when the mirror is drawn rearwardly and downwardly from its vertical position.

By referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be observed that the rear of the housing I is provided with a relatively large opening 54 adapted to be closed by a door 55 preferably hinged as indicated at 56 (see Fig. 2) so that the door 55 may be swung from its normal closed position, as shown in Fig. l, to an open position permitting access to the interior of the housing through the rear door. The door 55 is preferably provided with a plurality of ventilation openings 56a extending therethrough, there being a baflie 51 secured upon the door to prevent the lamp may be readily turned horizontally to 7 any desired position'or may be swung about a horizontal axis defined by the trunnion bearings 59 and 60 in a vertical plane to direct the light from the lamp on any desired point.

Also, if desired, suitable switch mechanism 6| may be provided upon the lower extensions '3 of the housing I, suitably enclosed in a chamber 62 formedin the side of. the extension 3 and covered by a switch cover member 63 permitting the lamp to be switched on and off immediately at the lamp.

By referring particularly to Fig. 7, it will be observed that the mirror 41 is spaced rearwardly from the filament to such position as will bring the filament 20 substantially at the center of the sphere defined by the mirror 41 so that the entire light from the filament 20, both that emanating from the front of the filament'and that emanating from the rear of the filament, is concentrated at the junction of the filament. With the lamp in'the position shown in full lines in Fig. 7, the effective illumination projected through the lens [9 represents the illumination collected from both the front of the filament and the rear of the filament through an angle of approximately 74 while, when the light source and its mirror 41 are moved toward the lens IS, the eifective angle of collection of the light from the front of the filament is increased, while the effective angleof collection of the light by the mirror is likewise increased the same amount, producing the result of a more brightly illuminated large area than is possible with the parabolic mirror arrangement heretofore used when a large area was to be illuminated. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, substantially allof the light emanating from a spot lamp or flood lamp employing a parabolic mirror emanates from the rear of the lamp filament, so that as thelight source is' drawn'rearwardly from the focus, as is the case when-\the proj'e cted beam is flooded or diverged." The-optical action of a parabolic mirror is such that a ghost or dark spot is formed on the center of the illuminated area. With my construction,

1 employing a spherical mirror with the filament of a lamp placed substantially at the center thereof, substantially no shadow or image of the filament is projected and the illuminated area is of substantially constant intensity throughout. Again, the mirror 41 may be adjusted slightly to project an illuminated image of the separate coils of. the .filament 20 in the spaces between the adjacent coils of the filament, thereby producing emanating from the plane of the filament 20 and in eifect a relatively-square area of illumination further eliminating the objectionable. shadow effects.

' It will be observed that-I have provided a spot lamp, or flood lamp, in which may be. employed I a suitable light source with a spherical mirror door; r- Y 3. In a fiood or spot lamp, a housing having a lens at one end thereof through which light ment of the door at the rear 01 the housing, access may be had to the mirror for making adjustments of the mirror .to its proper focused position, while the lamp is burning, and while it is projecting light, permitting the illumination effects of the mirror adjustments to be observed while the adjustments are being made. Also, by mounting the mirror with its hinge mounting, the mirror may be swung out of the way of access through the rear door, to the light source, permitting changes" or adjustments of the light source as may be desired, or, when incandescent lamps are used as light source, the entire lamp may be removed through the door without disturbing the lens attachment or any other portions of the lamp and its housing.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to any of the details of construction shown herein, except as defined in the appended claims.

\ I claim:

1. In a flood or spot lamp, 8. housing having at one end thereof a lens through which light may be projected and having a door at the opposite end through which access to the interior of said housing may be obtained, a light source, means mounting said light source between said door and said lens for movement toward and away from said lens, a mirror, means mounting said mirror between said light source and said door with the light source in focus in said mirror, means connecting said mirror mounting means to said lightsource mounting means for movement therewith in fixed focus relation to said light source, said mirror mounting means including a hinge permitting said mirror to be swung out of the path of access to said light source through said door, and adjustable stop means on said hinge means for adjusting said mirror relative to said light source to focus the same, accessible through said door.

2. In a fiood or spot lamp, a housing having a lens at one end thereof through which light may be projected, a door at the opposite end of ".said housing through which access to the interior 'said light source forwardly and readwardly in said housing toward and away from said door, mirror mounting means including hinge means permitting said mirror to be swung out of the 'path of access to said light source through said may be projected, a door at the opposite end of said housing through which access to the source mounting means and said mirror mounting means together for movement as a unit along said rods, and means connected to said light source mounting means for moving said light source forwardly and rearwardly in said housing toward and away from said door, said mirror mounting means including hinge means interposed between said mirror and said rods whereby said mirror may be swung out through said door to permit access to said light source through said door.

ELMER C. RICHARDSON. 

